Expression and significance of PTEN in human gastric carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression of PTEN in human gastric carcinoma,investigate the roles in the tumorigenesis and development of gastric cancer.Methods Immunohistochemical staining SP method was used to evaluate the expression of PTEN in 51 cases of gastric cancer,their adjacent mucosal tissues and normal tissues.The expression of PTEN were compared with clinicopathological features.Results The expression of PTEN in gastric carcinoma were lower than those in paraneoplastic or normal tissues(P 0.001),PTEN expression in gastric cancer were negatively associated with lymph node metastasis,invasion depth,histodifferentiation degree,TNM staging(P 0.05).Conclusion Down-regulated expression of PTEN protein associated with tumorigenesis and progression in gastric carcinoma.It is suggested that PTEN can be an objective marker for pathologically biological behaviors in gastric carcinoma.